Two Worlds
by snake pride
Summary: The Dursleys have been keeping a secret for five years, now its time for it to come out into the open! Harry Potter will no longer be kept in darkness, he will be saved by a man cloaked in it
1. The hidden child

Ok so here's my next attempt at writing!

This is only the introduction, but I'll write the rest of it in drips and drabs.

Of course a review or two would make me write a little more frequently (hint hint)

Anyways hope you like it! Btw it will be a very cliché story line with Snape being sent to go look for Harry and becoming a father/mentor figure…but there will be a twist or two I'm sure isn't cliché at all! If they are then sorry to anyone I may have …borrowed it from :D

NO SLASH… most likely, but there's no guarantee with what my mind will think of next!

ENJOY!

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On the outside, the Dursleys of number four Privet Drive seemed like a very ordinary family. Vernon Dursley was the head of the household, going to work each Monday through to Friday, nine to five, earning money to feed his beloved wife and son. Petunia Dursley was the stereotypical housewife. She spent her days washing the windows and cleaning the floors, making sure the evening dinner was ready by the time her husband came home, and her young son was perfectly content with everything he had. Whenever she was not cleaning, she was either spying on her neighbours or gossiping with one of her girlfriends about what number three across the road could've possibly been thinking when she went out and got that new hair cut! She was a very loving mother and wife and would do whatever she could to make sure her little Duddykins was perfectly happy. Dudley Dursley was the youngest member of the Dursley family. He was soon to turn eleven and already resembled a young whale with a mop of dirty blonde hair on his head. He was the most spoilt child possible and had both his parents wrapped around his chubby little fingers. He spent his days beating up younger, smaller kids with the help of his neighbourhood friends, making sure he was never caught, and either taking all their money or the sweets they had just bought at the local milkbar. So on top of being spoilt, Dudley Dursley was also a bully (not that any of the adults in the neighbourhood knew, they all thought he was just wonderful!)

But there was one thing that the Dursleys kept secret at all times, and that was the fourth person who lived under the Dursley roof. Little Harry Potter.

Harry Potter is so far from ordinary; you wouldn't even be able to find his name next to extraordinary. For you see, Harry Potter is a wizard, and not just any wizard that's for sure. His parents were murdered by the darkest wizard of the age when he was just a year old, landing him in the "care" of his only living relatives, the Dursleys.

Now you would think that because Harry Potter is their only nephew, the Dursleys would treat him all right. However, that is not the case.

From the very moment little Harry was found on the door of number four Privet Drive that fateful November morning, he was treated like some dead thing the cat had dragged in, or at least that's what the Dursleys would think if they had a cat. Petunia didn't care for pets, much too messy in her opinion. Even when he was just one year old, the Dursleys treated him like vermin. His bedroom was the cupboard under the stairs for the first six years of his life.

As soon as he was able, Petunia had him doing chores to "earn his keep" even though she knew they were being given money from a trust set up by his parents. By the time Harry was four he was able to cook an egg and bacon breakfast for three in under ten minutes, scrub the flood well enough so you could see your reflection if you looked down and could weed a garden, making sure he never damaged any of Petunia's prize winning roses.

Sure he occasionally got a slap around the ears when he didn't complete his chores according to the Dursley's standards, and the only food he got to eat were either the Dursleys left overs or food that had already spoilt, but compared to how he lives now, that would be like heaven to him. He only lived in the cupboard under the stairs until he was six, but after one accidental burst of magic, Harry was sent to live upstairs in the attic. Permanently.

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so… you like?

I'll be updating soon but I'm going away from the 4th to the 12th so there will be a bit of a wait, sorry! But hopefully that will mean I'll be able to get all my ideas down so when I get back I'll be able to post post post!

Reviews appreciated (hint hint)


	2. Life in the Attic

Chapter 2!

Thank you everyone who reviewed!

AchillesMonkey, jen3572005, DebsTheSlytherinSnapefan, panther73110, goldentree

You guys are the best!

Now onto the next part!

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"BOY GET DOWN HERE!"

Harry Potter dropped the bottle of cleaner into the bathroom sink and ran down the stairs as quickly as he could. He had learnt at a young age that when his Uncle Vernon yelled, it was wise to do what he said as fast as possible.

Jumping down the last three steps, Harry came to a sudden stop just outside the family room. He took one deep breath then pushed open the door, not knowing what his uncle was angry about now.

"What took you so long boy? When I call you I want you to get here immediately, do you understand?!" Harry cowered away in fear. He could tell by his uncle's breath that he had been drinking again, which never boded well for Harry.

"I'm sorry Uncle! I was cleaning the bathroom and I came as soon as I heard. I promise! I'll try better next-" But before he could finish his apology, Uncle Vernon hit Harry across the face, knocking him on the ground.

Tears started to fall from his eyes, but Harry knew that would only lead to more pain so he tried to stop them. Uncle Vernon advanced on the poor six-year-old, who was too frightened to back away.

"Please, please Uncle! I'm sorry I was bad! I won't do it again! Please!" Harry begged his uncle, but it was no use. His uncle had seen the tears and was about to punish him again.

"You stupid, little freak! Do you think I want to hear your pathetic excuses? You're pathetic and no one will ever love you! Do you hear me?! There is only one thing to do with freaks like you and that's to beat the freakiness out of you!" As he advanced on Harry, Vernon pulled off his belt. He lifted his arm and brought the belt down as hard as he could, but just before it hit the terrified child, Harry covered is face and screamed "NO!"

Instead of hitting Harry, both Vernon and the belt were thrown across the room, the belt disintegrating into nothingness.

Petunia ran into the room after hearing the crash. She took one look around the room and screamed when she saw her husband half conscience in a heap. Harry could only watch stunned as his uncle slowly got up. He knew he was in for it now; all he could hope for was that his uncle had hit his head and wouldn't remember what happened, like in the movies. But of course nothing ever went right for Harry.

"That's it! I am sick of that little freak living in this house! He is a danger to us all Petunia and he has to go!" As Uncle Vernon shouted, he stormed over to Harry and roughly pulled him from the ground. He started dragging Harry to the front door when Petunia finally spoke.

"He can't go Vernon; you know what that letter said. If he stays here we will be safe from the other freaks out there."

Vernon stopped and turned around, still clutching Harry's arm so hard it hurt.

"I don't care what that letter said Petunia. He is not staying in this house a moment longer." With that he shoved Harry towards the front door. Harry wasn't expecting to be let go and landed flat on his face, smashing his glasses when he fell over.

"Get up you little freak, and get out of my house!" Harry scrambled to obey, but his aunt's words stopped him in his tracks.

"He isn't going anywhere Vernon. I don't care where he stays, but I will not endanger my family just because one little freak can't control his freaky powers. He can live in the attic for all I care! He is not leaving this house!"

Harry looked up at the blurry outlines of both his relatives. He didn't understand half the stuff they were saying. What letter were they talking about? What did they mean 'other freaks like him?' Unfortunately he should have used that time to escape, but before he could even consider making a break for it, his uncle grabbed his arm once again and dragged him up the stairs. His uncle reached up and grabbed hold of the pull string that opened the attic doorway. When the stairs came down, he pulled Harry up with him. Once they had climbed the stairs, Harry was thrown forwards yet again. He cried out as his ribs smashed into the corner of an old wooden chest, and by the time he stood up and turned around, his uncle was already descending the staircase.

"You are to stay in there freak and I don't want to hear a sound out of you! If I do, there will be hell to pay!" With those final words, his uncle closed the door, casting Harry in total darkness.

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Harry didn't know how long he stayed up in the attic before his uncle came back, but he was sure it had been several hours at least.

"Here I've brought these from your old room so you better be grateful. Here's some bread and water, but they are to last you the week so don't start making a lot of noise if you run out. There is plenty there. Here's a bucket for you to go in, but I better not find stains or puddles anywhere else boy or you will be in even more trouble."

Harry looked up just in time to see his uncle throw an old blanket and a large bucket onto the floor. He also placed a loaf of bread and a one-litre bottle of water on the ground before turning around and casting Harry in darkness once again.

Harry crawled forward on all fours looking for the blanket. Wrapping it around himself he huddled back in the corner and, despite what his uncle said, cried himself to sleep.

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Harry spent the next two months like that. His uncle would come in once a week to give him more food, but he never emptied the bucket. It just kept getting more and more full, until one day it over flowed. Harry wouldn't forget that day for a long time…

_flashback_

Harry had just finished his last piece of bread, hoping his uncle would bring more soon. He realised he needed to go to the toilet, but his bucket was full. Not wanting to make his uncle mad, he held on for as long as he could. Finally when he couldn't wait any longer, Harry crawled over to the bucket. The smell was awful, but Harry was busting. He was just about to go when his uncle came up the stairs. Harry didn't realise at first, because his uncle always came up at nighttime, so it was still dark. A very small amount of light would shine through the doorway, but all that meant was that his uncle could see Harry. He could also see the bucket overflow.

"What the hell is wrong with you freak?!" Harry jumped nearly a foot in the air. It was the first time anyone had spoken to him in nearly a month. He backed away from his uncle, scared he was going to be punished. His uncle came towards him and kicked him in the ribs. Harry cried out and curled into himself, but it seemed his uncle was finished with punishing him. "I told you not to stain the floor and look what's happened! You don't even deserve this food!" With that, he turned around and pushed the door shut.

It didn't take Harry long to work out he hadn't been left any food or water.

It was another two weeks before Harry was fed again. Luckily he had saved most of his water, but it hadn't lasted the whole time and it had been two days since his last drink.

When his uncle finally came back, Harry was sleeping in his corner. From the little that Vernon could see, he knew his nephew needed some water or he would die. He didn't care that his nephew was that close to death, all he could think about was what would happen to his family if the boy died.

He walked over to Harry and shook him until he woke up. "Potter wake up and drink this." He shoved the bottle of water into Harry's hands then turned and left. Harry was still too weak to do anything other than drink the water; he didn't even have enough strength to crawl over to the bread his uncle had left, even though he was starving. He had a few mouthfuls then put the rest away, not knowing how long it would be before his next lot. Wrapping the blanket around himself, he went back to sleep.

End flashback 

Harry sat in his corner, chewing on a piece of bread. He didn't know how long it had been since the bucket incident, but to a small child it felt like forever. He hadn't spoken since that fateful day when he was shut in there, and he was scared he would forget how. Very quietly, so his uncle wouldn't hear him, Harry started to sing a song he had learnt at school earlier in the year.

"I think mice are rather nice." 

"Their tails are long, their faces small" 

"They haven't any chins at all." 

"Their ears are pink, their teeth are white," 

"They run about the house all night."

"They nibble things they shouldn't touch." 

"And no one seems to like them much." 

"But I think mice are nice."

Just as he finished the last line, a voice spoke up. "I also think mice are nice. Watching them struggle to get away from me as I inject my poison into their little bodies, seeing the life leave their eyes after they tried so hard to get away. But the thing I like the most about them is when I suck up their tails last, watching it disappear between my teeth." As the voice spoke, Harry could hear it coming closer to him. It sounded like something was being dragged across the floor. Suddenly Harry felt something coming up his leg. He was terrified of what it might be but cautiously put his hand out. He could feel odd bumps underneath his hand.

"What- what are you?" Harry didn't realise that his voice came out in a hiss. The creature wound its way up his arm. Harry felt a soft tongue touching his face.

"Hey stop that! It tickles! What are you?" The strange creature wrapped its way around his neck and back down his arm before it finally answered.

"I am an adder." The snake heard Harry's gasp and quickly put him at ease. "Do not worry Little One, I will not harm you. It is very rare for me to find a Speaker such as you."

Harry was confused. What did the adder mean by "speaker"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

The snake let out a noise that sounded like laughter to Harry. "Oh Little One, do you honestly think most humans can understand me? You are a special human who can speak to snakes. It is a very rare gift that most people are afraid of, but don't worry, I'll make sure you don't come to any harm. Now, how do you get out of here? I can get in because there is a small hole in the wall behind some boxes, but you are far too large for that."

Harry felt tears well up in his eyes. "I, I can't get out. My uncle has told me to stay in here and I don't know how to open the door. I think he's put a lock on it like the one on my cupboard. I haven't been out of here for months."

It was now the adders turn to gasp. "My dear Little One, do you mean to tell me you are trapped in here? How do you feed each day? A growing boy such as you needs nutrients! This won't do at all!" With that said, the snake slithered off his lap and the sound of her (because to Harry it sounded like a girl) slithering away soon ended. Harry thought his new friend had left him and started to cry. He soon dropped back off to sleep, thinking he had been abandoned once again, but, in what felt like no time at all, Harry was woken by the sound of something heavy moving across the floor.

"I've returned Little One, and I have brought you food. I found a burrow of rabbits and have brought you one to feed on." Harry heard the snake make some retching noises before there was a dull thud sound. "Come child, it is still good to eat. Just make sure you don't eat the fur." Harry had never heard of someone eating rabbit before and was rather disgusted by the idea.

"I'm sorry but I can't eat this. How am I meant to cook it? Aunt Petunia always said not to eat raw meat, it's bad."

"Little One, if it was bad to eat raw meat, then how come I can eat it and be fine. Humans only ruin meat by cooking it. They are the only creature to do that. The only reason they get sick from it is because they wait too long before they eat it. I promise you won't get sick and you will love the taste of baby rabbit. Please trust me."

**Rather disgusting bit so if you get queasy, skip it!**

Harry tentatively reached a hand out and felt around for the rabbit. He grabbed hold of something soft, yet slimy and quickly dropped it again.

"Ew! It's all gross and slimy! How do I eat it?"

"Just rip open its stomach. The best parts are in there and if you do that then you won't eat any of the fur."

Harry grabbed hold of the rabbit again and, trying not to throw up, ripped open its stomach. He could feel the blood covering his hands but ignored it as best he could. He felt around inside until he could grab hold of something. He didn't know what it was but he pulled it off and with a bit of pressure it came loose.

"Oh Little One, you've got a good piece of meat there. Go on, eat it. I promise it will taste good."

**Ok it's safe to read now!**

Harry took one deep breath and put the piece of meat in his mouth. He chewed it quickly then swallowed it. It didn't taste as bad as he thought it would (not that it tasted great, but anything was better then stale bread by this stage!)

He reached for some more, and very soon had eaten everything he could except for the bones, which he couldn't eat and the fur because the adder told him not to.

For the first time since before Harry was put in the attic, he actually felt full.

"Thank you Adder! That was so much better than I thought it would be! I'm actually full!"

"I am glad to hear that Little One. Now I must go and feed, but I promise I will be back." Harry listened as the snake slithered away. When the sound of scales on wood disappeared, Harry had a drink of water then went to sleep, feeling full for the first time in months.

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Harry and the adder spoke each day. The adder told Harry that she was indeed a girl and Harry could call her Cecelia, but Harry had trouble saying that so she shortened it to Cissy.

Everyday Cissy would get Harry a rabbit or some other small creature, telling him that it was her duty to "protect and serve a speaker anyway she could, just like the snakes of old." Whatever that meant.

They spoke each day, Cissy telling Harry tales of some of the adventures she had in the wild, and Harry telling Cissy stories of the things that had happened to him with the Dursleys. Cissy never told Harry this, but she was appalled at the sorts of things that had happened to him.

More months passed and Harry still hadn't left the attic. One day when Vernon was coming in to give Harry his food, he saw a rabbit carcass. After screaming at Harry for nearly an hour and beating him unconscious, he left, taking the bread with him.

He had left the water behind, but it was the last time Harry saw him.

Three weeks passed with no more food from Vernon. Harry was starting to get dehydrated because he had run out of water days ago, the only reason he wasn't dead was because of the blood from the rabbits, but that would only sustain him for so long. He felt like was going to die and he was scared.

"Cissy, I don't know how much longer I can go on just blood! I'm scared. What should I do?"

Cissy knew Harry was magical. She also knew some wizards could do wandless magic, but she wasn't sure if Harry was strong enough and she didn't want to give him false hope.

Another two days passed and if Harry didn't drink any water soon, Cissy knew he would die. "Harry, I think I have a solution to your problem. You know how I have told you, you are special, and that you can do magic?" At Harry's weak nod she continued. "Well there are others like you. Most of them need a strange stick to do magic, but there are some who can do it with their hands. It is a very rare gift, but I believe that if you try hard enough you might be able to do it to. After all, you can talk to me and not many people can do that."

"What- what do I do?" Cissy thought for a moment before an idea came to her.

"Little One, I want you to hold out your hands in a bowl shape and imagine they are filling up with water. Try and picture it as clearly as you can. I know it has been a very long time since you have seen any, but try and remember what it looks like."

Harry closed his eyes and did as Cissy told him. In his mind his hands were slowly filling up with water. Just as Harry felt something wet hit his hands, Cissy gasped.

"It's working Harry! Keep doing it, its actually working!" Harry kept imagining the water pouring into his hands, knowing that it was really happening. When he felt it overflow he opened his eyes again and greedily slurped up the small amount of water he had made. It tasted wonderful. Harry kept doing that until his thirst was gone. It was one of the happiest days Harry had, had in what seemed like forever. He now knew that he no longer had to rely on his uncle for anything. Cissy would keep bringing him food and he could create his own water.

The only problem was, because Harry was only speaking Parsletongue and no one ever spoke English to him, his ability to not only talk, but also understand English was disappearing.

It wasn't until nearly five years later, when he was finally rescued, that he discovered he could no longer talk like other humans.

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YAY next chapter done!

Sorry about the cliffie, but that's how I always had it planned in my head!

Next chapter won't be out for a while because I'm going away tomorrow but that means when I get back I'll have written some more chapters!

So Harry is now 11 and I assume u can all guess what that means!

BTW, sorry about the whole Cissy thing. Never ask your older sister to give you a name for a snake! Seriously, Cecelia the Snake? Well I guess it is better then Snakey which is what she wanted me to call it.

Oh! Just before I forget, I know next to nothing about snakes so I'm just making most of it up. No flaming me if I completely stuff something up! And yes I'm sure snakes don't live as long as Cissy will, but I don't care! It fits in well with the plot!

And I'm also sure Harry shouldn't be able to live that long with no water.

Um…his magic was keeping him alive? Sure that'll work! So his magic was keeping him alive:P

As always, reviews appreciated!


	3. Rescue

Next chapter!

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed!

Jen3572005

AchillesMonkey

Bunnies- lol sorry for kind of killing **you** in the last chapter :P I'm curious about how long a person could live on food and blood?

goldentree

BrightFeather- I did research! And found out some interesting stuff on wild children but that's all in my AN down the bottom (and I used a little poetic license on some parts of it :P)

Devan.Snape

IloveFlitwick

Almightyswot- he wasn't only eating rabbits, that's just what I used as his first "meal" btw read my AN down the bottom because I found out some interesting things about the way humans adapt to diet changes

I would like to apologise right now for any major spelling or grammatical errors you may find. I wrote this chapter over several days between the hours of 11 at night and 2 in the morning!

Ok so I've rambled on enough!

Here's the next chapter!

"talking"

"_parseltongue"_

_thoughts_or _letters...i'm sure you will be able to tell which:D  
_

Chapter 3- Rescue

Severus Snape was sitting at his desk working on his new class schedules when a golden feather appeared in a flash of fire. He quickly grabbed it out of the air and unrolled the note attached.

_Severus, if it isn't too much of an inconvenience, could you please come up to my office. I need you to go on a small errand for me. _

_Albus_

Severus knew he had no choice in the matter and Albus was just being polite. Putting his quill away and cleaning up the few loose papers on his desk, Severus threw a handful of floo powder into the fireplace and was instantly transported to the headmaster's office.

Brushing himself off as he arrived, Severus greeted Albus with a polite nod of the head. Quickly scanning the office, he noticed that Minerva McGonagall was also present.

"Ah Severus, I'm glad you could come so quickly. Please be seated."

"As I'm rather busy Headmaster I would prefer to just hear what it is you want me to do and get it over with."

Albus looked at Severus over his half-moon spectacles. Oh no. That never boded well for anyone.

"As I'm sure you are both aware, Harry Potter is supposed to be coming to Hogwarts this year. Minerva has informed me, Severus, that she has sent out several letters to the boy, yet has received no reply. I need the two of you to go to his home and speak to his family." Albus held up his hand, forestalling any complaints Severus might have had.

"Now Severus I know you are very busy but I need two people I trust. The only other person I could ask is Hagrid but he's already doing something else for me at the moment. Now as I'm sure you have plenty of other things to do today, you best be going. He lives at four Privet Drive, Surrey."

Severus was once again about to speak up, but Albus cut him off again.

"Severus it's not like I am asking you to bring him back here and have him live in your quarters. I only want you to go with Minerva and speak to his family. Should any complications present themselves I have full faith in both yours and Minerva's abilities to be able to handle them."

_Damn Dumbledore and his manipulative ways_. Severus had no choice but to go, despite how much he detested the idea.

"Fine, but I don't see what problems there could be. The little brat is probably as spoilt as his father was and will be all too thrilled to be able to learn magic, just so he can feel even greater. Well Minerva, as I am rather busy I think we best be going."

With that, the two professors stood and left the office. They walked in silence all the way to the gate. After passing through the wards they both disapperated with a loud 'CRACK' appearing seconds later outside the Dursley household.

Severus started walking towards the door, wanting to get the job done quickly, but he was held back by Minerva.

"Severus please, I know you disliked Harry's father, but don't treat his son badly because of it. I don't know why, but I have a strange feeling about this house. Just be a little open-minded and don't judge the boy straight away."

Severus gave her one of his famous death glares and pulled his arm out of her grip.

"Honestly Minerva, you haven't even met the boy and he's already got you wrapped around his little finger. I highly doubt anything will go wrong, but if it makes you feel any better I will try and keep an open mind about the boy. Now if you don't mind I have a lot of work to do today and would like to get back to it."

Without a backwards glance, Severus walked across the road and rang the doorbell. Just as Minerva caught up with him, the door opened and standing in the doorway was the largest child either of the two professors had ever seen.

"Who are you?" Demanded the boy. Severus was ready to curse the brat right there. Minerva obviously realised this because she stepped in front of Severus, blocking his target.

"Hello, my name is Minerva McGonagall and this is my colleague Severus Snape. I assume you are Dudley Dursley? We are here to talk to your parents about your cousin, Harry."

"Harry? What would you want with him? He's not here anyway. He ran away a few years ago."

Minerva was shocked. Ran away? How on earth were they meant to find him now?

But then she realised that he couldn't have run away. The letters she sent clearly said he lived with his relatives.

In the time it took for Minerva to register what the boy had said, Severus had his wand out and had it pressed into the boys flabby neck.

"Now I find that incredibly hard to believe. I know for a fact that Harry Potter lives here and we are not leaving until we have spoken to both your parents and him. So if you would be so kind as to go retrieve your parents I would be most appreciative."

Dudley could only nod dumbly. He didn't know what the man was holding, but he had watched enough spy movies to know that it could be any number of dangerous things.

Stumbling backwards, not wiling to take his eyes off the strange man, Dudley called out to his dad.

"Dad! There are some people at the door. They want to talk to you about Harry."

It took no more then five seconds for a man who could only be Vernon Dursley to come thundering down the stairs.

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE! HARRY POTTER RAN AWAY WHEN HE WAS SIX AND I WAS GLAD TO BE RID OF HIM! I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE AND I WON'T BE HAVING YOU FREAKS IN MY HOME! NOW GET OUT!"

If Vernon Dursley was an intelligent man, he would've realised that calling two adults, who were both capable of doing magic, 'freaks' was a very bad idea. However, since he was never the sharpest tool in the shed he didn't see the look the two visitors gave each other before he found himself bound with ropes and unable to utter a single sound.

Severus stalked over to Vernon and whispered dangerously in his ear, so only the two of them would know what he was saying.

"Now Dursley, if you ever want to move again, I suggest you tell me where your nephew is. I will remove the spell that is stopping you from making a complete ass out of yourself, even though I am loath to do so, and you will tell me the whereabouts of Harry Potter."

Severus waved his wand and muttered a few words under his breath and suddenly Vernon realised he could talk again.

He was about to go off on another rant, when Severus' next words stopped him.

"If you do not tell me where the boy is by the time I count to five, I will make it very public knowledge that you are not only cheating on your wife with your secretary , but said secretary happens to be your bosses twenty-three year old daughter.

"One." Nothing

"Two" Dursley was starting to panic

"Three" His breathing was getting faster and faster.

"Four" If he wasn't careful he would have a heart attack.

"Fi-"

"The attic! He's in the attic! Or at least he was the last time I saw him. Please, don't tell anyone. It would ruin me!"

"Well I'm not sure Dursley. It all depends on the condition Potter is in when I go get him. And what do you mean he was in the attic last time you saw him? WHEN was the last time you saw him?"

Vernon mumbled something but Severus was unable to make out what it was. Minerva on the other hand, thanks to her cat-like hearing, heard it perfectly.

"Five years!? You've left that child in the attic for five years? What about food and going to the toilet? Has he even seen sunlight since then?"

"He hasn't been in there for five years! The little freak has a way of getting out! I don't know how, but the last time I went in there, there were animal skins lying all over the floor! The little freak had been getting in and out the whole time. After seeing that, I wasn't about to keep feeding him! He could clearly do that himself."

Vernon realised what he said just after he said it. His face paled but he knew the damage was done.

"Uh, I mean…"

"Save it Dursley, you better start praying that the boy is **somehow** still alive, because if he isn't, nothing can save you. You will have nearly every single magical person after you should something happen to their saviour. Not only that, but muggles everywhere will be killed. Witches and wizards will use this as an excuse to kill innocent people, all because you are an inhumane monster."

With that said, Severus and Minerva ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. They quickly reached the upstairs landing and looked around for the cord that would open the attic door.

"You can't get in there."

Both the professors jumped and turned around, having forgotten abut the Dursley boy.

"He- he had a plasterer come in a few months after Harry left and got him to put a new layer of plaster over the old, including over the trapdoor that lead to the attic. I know I was only six at the time but still! I should have realised something was strange. I heard mum and dad talking about something that had been in the attic, just after the roof was re-done. I just thought it was some kind of bird or mouse that had made a home in there and mum didn't want it dying or anything like that. Dad told mum that he had gotten rid of it already and she believed him but she was really mad at him 'cause whatever it was, was meant to stay here. I never really thought much about it until now. Do you think… do you think they were talking about Harry?"

Dudley ran into a nearby room and the two adults could hear him emptying his stomach of all the food he had eaten that day.

"Dear Merlin what are we meant to do now Severus?" Minerva had never sounded so defeated to Severus.

"We need to know if he's alive, but the only way can get into the attic is by finding that door." Severus went to the room where Dudley was still dry heaving. "I know this is hard for you, but we need to know where the trapdoor was or we can't get to your cousin."

Dudley nodded and stood up. He walked back out to where Minerva was standing and began looking around.

"Um…I think it was about there." He pointed to a spot just near the bathroom door.

Severus and Minerva both pointed there wands at the spot he was pointing and shouted 'reducto!"

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"It smells awful in here!"

"Well what do you expect it to smell like after five years Severus? My goodness it is dark in here. Lumos"

Severus followed Minerva's lead and lit his wand. Looking down he quickly wished he hadn't when he realised he was standing on a dead animal.

"Well at least Dursley wasn't lying about the animals. This one is still wet so it couldn't have been dead for long."

Suddenly they both heard a noise in the far corner.

"Potter? Potter is that you? My name is Severus Snape, I'm here to get you out. I'm not going to hurt you."

Just as he said that, a large adder slithered into the light.

"Oh my!" Minerva had her wand pointed at the snake as well.

The snake started hissing as it came closer to Severus. Severus backed up until he felt his back hit the wall. Just as he lifted his wand to curse the snake, he heard a loud shout the attic was lit up with a dull light.

It took him a moment for his eyes to adjust to the change of light.

"What on earth-?"

"Severus! Look."

Severus looked up to where Minerva was pointing. He felt the blood drain out of his face as he caught sight of a small boy crouched over the top of the snake, speaking rapidly in what could only be parseltongue.

(I was going to stop there but I thought you might kill me seeing as I said he was rescued this chapter :P)

The boy was dressed in a top that reached just above his knees and had clearly seen better days. It was covered in blood and had holes all over it. From what they could see it appeared to be the only thing the boy was wearing. His black hair was incredibly filthy and had several large knots in it, yet it was surprisingly short considering the amount of time the boy had spent alone, reaching just past his shoulders. His hands were covered in blood and dirt and his nails were short yet pointed. They could barely see his face around the curtain of black hair, yet what they could see tore at both their hearts. Harry's mouth was smeared with blood and his canine teeth had grown longer.(1) He had numerous scratches, including a nasty scar over his left eye.(2) Both his pupils were large, allowing as much light in as possible in the dimly-lit room and from the small bits of skin they could see, it was clear the boy was as white as snow, proving that he hadn't seen sunlight in months if not years.

Minerva was the first to speak.

"Harry?" At the sound of his name, Harry stopped hissing and just looked at Minerva in confusion. "Harry we're here to help. My name is Minerva and that man over there is Severus. We want to help you Harry." She reached a hand out to the boy and was startled at the reaction she got. Harry dropped to the floor and curled in on himself. He started rocking back and forth, muttering the same phrase over and over again.

Both the professors gave a shout when the snake wrapped its way up and around Harry. They were both amazed when it started hissing at the distraught boy. Harry lifted his tear-streaked face and looked at the snake. He started hissing back and the two professors were sure he was having a conversation with the snake. After a few incredibly tense minutes, Harry looked up.

He locked eyes with Minerva and slowly stood up. Not looking away from the first person Harry had, had contact with for nearly five years, he slowly took hold of her hand and shuffled forwards. The snake was still wrapped around his neck, but after the earlier display Minerva wasn't about to try and separate the two of them

"Come on Harry. Let's get you out of here."

Minerva gave Harry's hand a small tug and the two of them slowly made their way down the staircase, Harry covering his eyes at the sudden increase of light.

Quickly realising what the problem was, Severus transfigured a broken quill in his pocket into a pair of sunglasses, very strong sunglasses. He was rather amazed that the boy trusted them so easily, yet when he tried to give the boy the glasses he quickly learnt that the trust only went to Minerva.

The boy lashed out and knocked the glasses to the floor. He ripped his arm out of Minerva's grasp and bolted back up the stairs to the attic.

"Well at least he has some fight in him." Severus received a slap over the head for that comment.

"Oh wonderful. He sees his first human being in nearly five years and you go and scare him **back** into the attic. Well done Severus." Minerva turned on her heels and quickly walked back up the stairs, muttering about thoughtless potions masters as she went. It was completely dark again, the only source of light coming from the doorway she was standing in. She quickly lit her wand and looked around for the child.

"Harry? Harry please come out. Severus didn't mean to scare you, he was just trying to make it easier for you to see. Please Harry?"

She couldn't see him, but she was sure she had heard some hissing coming from the far corner.

She walked over to the noise and felt her heart break. Harry was cowering in the corner hissing the same phrase from before, which Minerva was quickly beginning to suspect was either "I'm sorry" or "no, don't"

She went down on her knees so she was eye-level with the frightened child.

"Harry, I'm sorry. Please believe me when I say Severus didn't mean to frighten you. We just want to help you."

The boy looked up again and hissed something to Minerva.

"I'm sorry Harry but I don't understand what you're saying. Can- can you speak English? If you understand what I'm saying nod your head for me."

Minerva waited with baited breath, but Harry only continued to stare at her.

_Sweet Merlin we're in trouble now. _

Severus had just entered the attic and had heard the question Minerva asked the boy but he didn't know the result. He made his way over to the light coming from her wand.

When he got there, he also knelt, not wanting frighten the child more than he already had.

"Does he-?"

"No. He doesn't understand a word I'm saying."

Severus let out a long sigh.

"Well then the only thing we can do is get him to Hogwarts and go from there. I know Albus can speak a little parseltongue, and it seems that is the only thing Potter understands."

Minerva held out her hand again and, albeit reluctantly, Harry grabbed it and allowed the strange woman to help him up.

The three of them walked slowly towards the exist. Just before going down the staircase, Severus held out the sunglasses again. Harry looked between Minerva and Severus several times indecisively. Making up his mind, he quickly grabbed the glasses out of Severus' hand and shoved them on his nose.

_If that boy doesn't become a seeker I'll give up teaching_., thought Minerva.

After making sure the glasses were on properly, the three of them walked the rest of the way down the attic stairs, Harry properly seeing the outside of his attic for the first time in five years.

He let go of Minerva's hand and started looking around. Severus and Minerva could see the pain in his eyes every time he looked their way.

"Harry." Harry quickly looked up at hearing Minerva speak his name. "Harry let's get you out of here." She took his hand again and the three of them made their way down to the bottom floor, having completely forgotten that Vernon was still there.

As soon as Harry saw his uncle, he started to shake and tried to pull away, but Minerva wouldn't let go of his hand.

"Harry! No Harry he can't get you! He can't! Come on!" She tried to pull him past his uncle, but Harry wouldn't budge.

Severus brushed past them and cast a spell on Vernon that lifted him up into the air and (quite roughly) dumped him in the next room. Harry giggled at seeing his uncle being so forcefully removed from his sight.

Minerva sent Severus a grateful smile and continued on her path to the front door, but Harry turned away and pulled her down the passageway. Minerva didn't want to upset him again so she let herself be led. She was surprised when Harry stopped outside the cupboards under the stairs.

She could see that he was having trouble turning the knob, not having used a handle in so many years. She helped him open it and stepped back as Harry pulled the door open.

Neither adult had any idea what Harry wanted in there, but it was clearly important seeing as how he still remembered it after all this time.

He went in and felt around on the floor for a minute or so before finding what it was he was looking for. He grabbed hold of a floorboard and pulled it up. Underneath was a small box which Harry took out. He then shuffled back out and took hold of Minerva's hand with his free one and started for the front door, which Severus had already opened.

As soon as they left the house, the ropes around Vernon fell off. He got up, fully intending to go after them but found his way to be blocked by his son.

"You monster." Was all Dudley said before running upstairs to his room. The look Dudley gave his father stopped Vernon from going after the three freaks. Instead he went upstairs to assess the damage done when they blasted away half his roof.

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If anyone had been looking at the Dursley home at that very moment, they would've seen a man in his early thirties leaving the house, shortly followed by an elderly old lady holding hands with a boy who closely resembled that strange Potter kid from years ago. Thankfully though, no one was watching, which means no one saw the old lady speak quietly to the boy before wrapping her arms around him and the three of them vanishing, as if by magic.

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YAY I'm done!

I'm actually really annoyed with how this chapter turned out but I just want to get it posted! I might go back a bit later and fix it up, but seeing as I'm incredibly lazy that isn't very likely :P

(1)- in my research on wild children (yes I actually looked them up and did some research) I found out that children who were raised by animals (carnivores) and ate mostly meat had longer canine teeth then usual. Also! The human body adapts to its diet, so Harry could live on only eating meat and not get diseases from lack of nutrients (and seeing as how he was hardly getting fed before this all happened it didn't really take much to change the way his body absorbed nutrients)

neat huh? Well I think it is…(grumble grumble)

(2) think Scar from the Lion King. He can still see from it but he just has a wicked cool scar down his face! (that was given to him when Uncle Vernon beat him up after seeing the rabbit skins)

Ok! So next chapter Harry is taken to Hogwarts and they discover his unusual ability for wandless magic (yes it was Harry who lit up the attic but that will all be explained in another chapter)

Reviews appreciated!


	4. A New World

TaikiRisi

The-dreamer4- made me laugh because I can just imagine you patting me on the head and handing me a cookie!Devan.Snape

AchillesMonkeyFangedphoenix

SpikesbitchPanther73110

NetrixiePhophetess Of Hearts

Applesolliejen3572005

Almightyswot- I think some people I know might've been raised by monkeys if that's the case:P

Kagedfoxfattoad

Hystericxmusic- my snake! Morgaine00000016

RandomIceQueenRRW

ShadowedHand- I don't have any plans on making it morbid…yet evil grin

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Harry felt his feet slam into the ground and found himself bending over and throwing up his latest meal.

He felt someone rubbing his back and jumped, not realising it was the strange lady from before. He dropped to the ground and hid his face between his knees

"_I'm sorry, please don't hurt me! I'm sorry!"_

"_Harry!" _Harry looked up at hearing Cissy's voice. He looked around confused, before realising his uncle was nowhere in sight.

"_Your uncle can't get you Harry. You saw what those people did. Try and remember that you're safe now!"_

Cissy slithered out from between the strange man's legs, grabbing the small box in her mouth that Harry had dropped.

She wound herself up Harry's leg and dropped the box into his open hand.

Harry quickly looked inside; checking to make sure everything was safe.

Harry looked up at the two adults who were watching him.

"_Who are you?"_ he asked, after making sure his treasures weren't harmed. Yet again he received no reply. The two adults just looked at him with confusion and… pity?

If there was one thing Harry hated it was pity. Sure no one had looked at him with any kind of emotion in a very long time, but pity was something Harry would never forget.

Harry remembered from his time before the attic, when adults on the street would look at him like that. He always hated it and clearly his aunt did as well because whenever she caught someone looking at Harry like that he was punished.

He could remember a particular incident when one of the teachers in his school called the Dursley's in to speak to them. Harry didn't know what went on in that conversation but when they left her office they both looked murderous, his teacher just looked at him with pity. When they arrived home Harry had received one of the worst beatings yet and the next day at school he walked into the classroom and saw a new teacher behind the desk. He never saw his old teacher again.

Lost in his memories, Harry didn't notice the person coming towards him. When he felt someone touch his shoulder he jumped and pulled away. Looking up he realised it was the strange lady from before, but Harry wasn't about to trust her again after she made his tummy feel that way. He couldn't remember the last time he had thrown up and he had forgotten just how revolting it felt.

The woman said something to him, but he didn't understand what.

"_I told you the man was safer! The lady has a strange smell about her, almost cat-like, but the man smells like herbs and plants, he seems like the much better choice, go to him!"_

Harry went over and took hold of the man's hand, making sure he kept his box safely tucked under his other arm.

The man looked surprised for a moment before gently pulling him towards a set of giant gates.

He allowed the man to pull him towards the gates but stopped short when he saw the strange creatures sitting on top.

"_Cissy, what are those?"_ Harry asked, pointing at the strange creatures.

"_I'm not sure, but I don't think they are alive. I see no body heat coming off them, but if they try and attack you, I will protect you."_

Harry smiled at the snake and went back to watching what the adults were doing.

The woman pulled out a wooden stick and pointed it at the giant gates. They both swung open and Harry gasped at what he saw.

Before him on top of a small hill was the most magnificent castle he had ever seen.

It was all too much for him, and before either of the two adults could react, he fainted.

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Harry blinked his eyes a few times, trying to get the fogginess to go away. It took a few moments but pretty soon he was able to see properly, that was when he realised he was surrounded by people, adults to be exact.

Pulling his knees to his chest he was shocked out of his fear when he realised he was wearing strange clothes, ones that covered both his arms and his legs.

He had a vague memory of Dudley wearing something like these. They were called… Pijamas? Pajamas? Pyjamas that was it!

With that realisation came many others, including the fact that his hair was clean and his nails had been cut.

"_What happened?"_

Harry wasn't really asking anyone in general, he was more thinking out loud. So imagine his surprise when a new voice answered him.

_"We cleaned you up, while you were unconscious. I also had Madame Pomfrey fix up all the scratches you had. Unfortunately the one over your eye couldn't be fixed and you'll have that scar for the rest of your life."_

"_Huh? Who- who are you? How come you all know who I am? What am I doing here!?" _  
Harry, though relieved that someone finally understood him, was still scared out of his mind and wanted answers.

_"Oh! Sorry I must have forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Albus Dumbledore and I'm the headmaster of Hogwarts, which is where you are now. We all know who you are because you were meant to receive a letter from us several weeks ago just before you turned eleven. You're here because-"_

But Harry interrupted him there.

"_ELEVEN! How can I be eleven!? I- I was only six when…"_ the implications of what that meant hit Harry hard. _"How- how many years is that?"_ The poor boy asked in a small voice.

It broke Dumbledore's already wounded heart to see the boy in so much pain, but he knew he had to answer.

_"Five Harry. You were kept in the attic for five years."_

Harry's already large eyes grew even wider at hearing that and Dumbledore could see his eyes fill up with tears, even through the dark glasses the boy was wearing.

Suddenly the boy broke down into sobs. Gut-wrenching, heart-breaking sobs.

Dumbledore could only make out a few phrases such as "_no_", "_all a dream_" and "_not true_." Dumbledore didn't know what to do. He tried to put his arm around the boys shoulder, but Harry just pulled away

Because Harry had his head resting on his knees, he didn't see Cissy make her way over to him and jumped when she bumped her head against his leg.

Harry looked up at Cissy, pain and longing showing clearly in his tear filled eyes.

He reached out and pulled Cissy up onto his lap. His continued to cry, but his tears were silent, slowly making their way down his cheeks.

"_Harry?"_ Harry looked back up at Cissy.

"_Harry dear it will be alright. Please stop crying Harry. I promise it will be alright._" Harry tried to stop crying and wiped away his tears.

"_It's not a dream Harry and you won't wake up and find yourself back with those awful humans._" Harry shuddered at the thought. "_I know this is a lot to take in Harry but Harry… you're free!"_

Harry's face drained of all colour for several seconds before the tears started to fall again, only this time they were tears of happiness.

"_Free?_" he said weakly. "_I'm free_."

Cissy nodded and rubbed her head against Harry's as the boy cried.

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Sometime later Harry stopped crying and looked around. He realised that the strange adults had left him alone. Looking around the room he saw that it was full of beds and cabinets with strange bottles around the room. At the other end of the room were two big doors.

Sliding out of the bed, Harry made his way over to them and tried to pull them open. Much to his displeasure he found them to be locked.

Harry closed his eyes and placed his hands over the lock. Focusing on what he wanted, Harry used his magic to open the doors. After a few seconds, Harry heard a 'click' and the two doors opened outwards.

Carefully peering around the doors, Harry saw that the coast was clear and made his way out of the strange room, Cissy following along behind him.

The two made their way around the castle, looking inside rooms and pointing out strange things.

It was quite some time later when Harry heard shouting. Not knowing what was going on, Harry panicked and started to run. He didn't know where he was going but soon found himself standing in the biggest hall he had ever seen.

All thoughts of the shouting left his mind when he realised just how large the hall was.

Harry looked around in wonder. There were five tables in the room, four going the same way and the other facing them.

Harry walked up the length of the hall between the two middle tables.

He saw something out of the corner of his eye and looked up, amazed that he was looking at the sky!

"_What on earth…? Cissy, Cissy are those…clouds?"_

_"They look likeclouds Harry. What I don't understand is how they got inside. It must be more of the strange magic the adults are capable of doing… Harry? Harry what are you looking at?"_

Harry was gazing steadily at the strange clouds.

"_I'd forgotten how fluffy they were._ _Cissy! Cissy look, one of the clouds looks like a rabbit! Can you see it?"_

Harry pointed out the cloud that resembled a rabbit.

"_It's changing! Look now it looks like a snake!"_

Cissy quickly caught onto the game Harry was playing and starting describing pictures she saw as well.

So caught up in the game, Harry didn't notice someone entering the room. Severus was rather surprise to find the boy and his snake looking up at the ceiling. He watched the two for sometime before making his presence known.

He walked over to the boy and had to hold back a laugh when they boy finally noticed him. Harry casually looked over at Severus and went back to looking at the ceiling, before it registered in his mind that there was another person there.

He turned around so quickly he fell over.

Rambling something in parsletongue, Harry slowly backed away, but Severus would have none of that.

Slowly, so as not to scare the boy, Severus made his way over to Harry.

The snake that was constantly near the boy hissed threateningly.

Not wanting to be attacked by a fairly lethal looking snake, Severus stopped where he was and got down on his knees so he was eye level with the boy.

Slowly Severus reached out to him. Harry looked at Severus with suspicion before hissing something to the snake. Severus was stunned when the snake came over to him and started flicking its tongue out around him. He realised that the snake was **tasting** him and stayed perfectly still. After a few seconds the snake turned back to the boy and hissed something to him. Whatever it was must have calmed the boy down somewhat because he slowly reached out and grabbed Severus' hand.

They sat like that for a few minutes but after Severus' legs started to go numb he knew he had to stand up.

Very carefully and without breaking eye contact with the child, Severus stood up, not letting go of the small hand he was holding.

"Come on Harry; let's get you back to the hospital wing before Madame Pomfrey brings down the whole castle looking for you." He could tell by the way Harry was looking at him that he didn't understand a word he had said.

Gently tugging on the small hand Severus made his way out of the hall, Harry following slowly behind.

When they reached the hospital wing, they were both surprised to see all of the staff waiting. Pomfrey took one look at the two before rushing over.

Harry tried to pull away, but Severus wouldn't let go of his hand, instead he pulled the boy to his side and shielded him from the mediwitch.

"Honestly woman you call yourself a professional! Can you not see that this boy is frightened?"

Pomfrey stopped where she was and they all saw Harry relax considerably.

Severus turned his back on the staff and faced Harry.

"Harry, are you alright?" He knew the boy wouldn't understand him, but he hoped the tone of voice he used would be enough to calm the still scared child.

He kept speaking softly to the boy until Harry stopped shaking enough to be able to face the others.

Severus pulled him further into the room and over to the same bed he was on before.

Harry assumed they wanted him to get on the bed so he climbed back on, having some difficulty due to the fact that the bed was designed for people much taller than himself.

The strange woman all dressed in white pulled out a long wooden stick, similar to the one the other lady had, and began waving it over him. Harry tried to pull away from it, but the nice man in black took his hand again and Harry instantly relaxed.

"_Harry, Madam Pomfrey is just doing some scans. She just wants to make sure that she didn't miss anything the first time."_

Harry looked up at hearing the old man (did he say his name was Albus?) speak.

He nodded his head and held as still as he could.

"_Ok she's all done Harry and she doesn't believe you have any further problems. Now the only thing we have to work out is where you are going to stay_."

"_Stay? What do you mean stay? Where am I exactly?"_

"_Ah yes",_ said Albus, _"I believe we didn't quite get to that last time did we? Well never mind I can just explain it all now. You're at Hogwarts Harry. It's a special school for young people to come and learn magic."_ Albus smiled at the gasp of shock he heard from Harry.

"_Now normally each child receives a letter from us just before their eleventh birthday and if we don't hear from them we send another. However after having sent you… several letters, we believed it necessary to go see if there was a problem at the Dursleys."_

Harry's grip on Severus' hand tightened, almost to the point of being painful, at the mention of his relatives.

Severus didn't know what Albus had said that had frightened Harry so much, so he just rubbed circles on the back of the boy's hand and hoped that would calm him down.

Harry pulled on Severus' handuntil he got the hint and climbed onto the bed behind Harry. Harry shuffled backwards until he could lean against Severus' chest.

There was a collective 'aw' around the room at seeing this. Severus just settled on giving everyone a glare for the time being. Next staff meeting however…

"_Due to your… situation however we don't believe you will be ready to enter Hogwarts in a month's time-"_

"_But, but I can do magic real good!"_ Harry once again looked close to tears.

"_I'm sure you can Harry, but that's just accidental magic, everyone can do that when they are young__. At Hogwarts you will learn to control your magic so you can do things on purpose."_

Harry shook his head, looking confused.

"_But that's what I do! I can light things up and unlock doors and once I made Cissy float!"_

Albus was stunned into silence.

He said something to the adults and they all looked stunned as well.

"_Harry…could- could you show us some of these things? I'll turn the lights down a bit for you and I would just like to see what you can do. Is that alright?"_

Harry looked at Dumbledore suspiciously.

"_If- if I do these things… you'll let me stay?"_

"_Harry of course we'll let you stay! Did you think we would send you away until you were able to cope with the work?"_ Harry just nodded, not knowing what to say to that.

"_Ok, but you need to make it darker or you won't be able to see what I'm doing."_

Dumbledore said some more things to the other adults and Pomfrey went and closed the blinds on the window. It instantly got darker so Harry concentrated on making the light come back. It only took him a few seconds before the entire hospital wing was dimly lit.

Harry heard the adults all gasp and several of them clapped.

Harry assumed it meant he had passed so he let the light drop. Pomfrey opened the blinds again and the sunlight came back.

"_That- that was incredible Harry! Could you please show me what else you can do?"_

Harry thought about all the tricks he had learnt while trapped. Thinking of things he needed to do to survive, Harry cupped his hands together and they instantly filled with water. Once again all the adults clapped for him.

Harry spent the next twenty minutes showing the adults all the tricks he could do. He levitated Cissy (much to her annoyance) and floated her around the room, summoned a bottle that was sitting near his bed and banished said bottle back to its place on the bedside table.

Next he got off the bed and walked over to one of the cabinets. He tried to open it but Albus informed him it was locked. Harry, having gotten some confidence due to all the praise he was receiving, sent them all a cheeky grin. He placed his hands over the lock and focused his magic on opening the doors.

Everyone heard the soft clicking sound and were amazed when the cabinet doors opened. Poppy Pomfrey was known for her locking skills, no student had ever been able to break into her cabinets before, and that was with the use of a wand!

Albus asked if he could do anything else and Harry nodded his head. _"But you have to tell everyone not to try and stop me."_

Albus said something to the others and Harry just had to assume he had told them to leave him alone.

Lifting his left hand up to his mouth, Harry bit into it hard enough to draw blood.

Pomfrey rushed forward to help but Albus shook his head and motioned for everyone to watch as Harry closed his eyes and placed his other hand over the bite.

Everyone could see him concentrating especially hard. The ward was completely silent for several minutes while Harry stood there with his eyes closed, blood slowly dripping from the wound he had inflicted upon himself.

Pomfrey was just about to rush forward, regardless of what Albus had said, when Harry suddenly opened his eyes and cried out in triumph.

Everyone watched as Harry removed his right hand to show the wound on his left hand…only there was no wound!

"That's not possible!" said Poppy. "No one can heal themselves! It's never been done before! It can't be done!"

"Poppy, you have just seen for yourself that it can be done. Harry's magic has obviously manifested in such a way which allows it to heal him." Albus put a hand on the shocked woman's shoulder in an effort to comfort her.

"I- I- I need to sit down." Poppy went and sat down on one of the spare beds, looking rather pale.

The others all turned back to Harry, who also looked decidedly unhealthy, not that you could really tell with the colour of his skin, and Severus motioned for Harry to come back onto the bed.

After Harry was settled into the covers, with Severus sitting behind him, Albus spoke again.

"_Well Harry, this certainly changes things. However the problem still remains that you can't speak English and I'm assuming you won't be able to read or write. If we can get your English skills up a bit in the next month you might be able to start school at the correct time, however it would be too dangerous for you to be taking classes if you didn't understand the instructions properly.__"_

Harry quickly spoke up_. "I promise to try really hard! I want to go to school and learn more magic! Please let me!"_

Albus assured the boy that if his skills were sufficient enough for him to be able to cope with going to classes in a month's time then he would be allowed to. After all it _was_ rather rare to see a student so eager to learn.

"_Now with that all cleared up, the only problem we have left is where you will stay until then."_

Harry just snuggled further into Severus' robes and grabbed hold of his hand.

"_Now Harry, I'm not sure if Severus will want you to stay with him and if he does you'll have to live in the dungeons with him where it is dark and might remind you too much of the attic. But if you think you c__an handle that…?"_

Harry nodded and wrapped both his arms around Severus' showing clearly that he wouldn't go with anyone else.

Albus turned to Severus and told him what Harry said. Severus pulled his arm out of Harry's grasp and got off the bed, looking horrified.

"Albus- Albus you can't be serious! There is no way I can look after the child! I don't know a thing about childcare and you told me I wouldn't have to do anything if I went and checked on him! I… no! No I won't do it!"

Albus sighed as Severus stormed towards the doors, knowing there would be no way he could convince the lad.

Severus was just about to walk through the doors when he heard a small voice coming from the other end of the ward.

"Please Sev'rus."

Severus turned around in shock, too stunned to say anything to the small boy who had just spoken his first English words since he was six.

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I'm done!!! Sorry about the wait but RL has been a real bitch to me the last two weeks!

Anyways sorry about the cliffy there but it just seemed right, and I have no idea when I'm going 2 post the next bit so don't hold your breath! Sorry!

and no this is not going to be SLASH. Sev was just comforting Harry like any adult would!

…if you feel like reviewing I certainly won't stop you :D


	5. Meeting the Students

**Ok READ THIS!**

near the bottom of the page i have added **(!) **this symbol. that is because i have changed the ending of the chapter and for anyone who has already read it, i suggest you re-read that part because otherwise the next chapter will look a bit dodge. i apologise for being a royal pain but it just didn't fit with Harry's character. for people who haven't read it yet (i'm optimistic more people will read it!) just ignore it cos it doesn't really affect you :P thanks for not killing me and i can almost guarantee the next chapter will be out within the next week (like 98 percent sure)

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: not mine!

Meeting the Students

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Severus sat at the head table, watching as the final student got sorted. Looking back at the last month, he was amazed that he had the ability to endure teaching for another year. After Harry had made his rather heart-felt plea to stay with him, Severus had been unable to say no. The month that followed was the hardest month in Severus' rather eventful life.

With the help of most of the staff, Severus had been able to teach Harry how to, once again, understand English and to a certain extent, speak it. Harry still struggles to speak in a way that most people can understand, often switching from English to Parseltongue mid-sentence, but he has a good grasp on the basics needed in order to survive living with nearly three hundred teenagers. Nevertheless, his interaction with his fellow students should be interesting.

There is also the fact that Harry is petrified of the dark. His first night at Hogwarts, Harry had cried for nearly two hours when Severus turned the lights off. Severus didn't know what the problem was until Albus had come down and translated it to him. It had still taken nearly forty-five minutes for Severus to coax Harry out of the corner he had crawled into, and another hour before Harry finally calmed down and went to sleep. From then on Harry had slept with a special candle that never burnt out. It was times like this that made Severus really appreciate magic.

Because of Harry's rather unusual magical abilities, they had decided that he would not be following the regular coursework. His charms skills were above the average fourth years and his self-healing skills needed to be perfected, so they didn't exhaust him so much. Most of the staff knew that in years to come, Harry would need to be able to heal himself as well as he could.

Severus was pulled from his thought as Albus stood and got the attention of everyone in the room. Severus knew that Albus' announcement would go down in Hogwarts history, and he was glad to be a part of it.

"Welcome students to another year of learning. Now as some of you older students may have realised, Harry Potter was meant to join us this year."

Whispers broke out among the older students, most not having noticed that he wasn't there.

Albus waited several minutes for the students to calm down before spoke up.

"Due to extenuating circumstances, Mr. Potter will not be following the regular coursework during his time at Hogwarts. He will be doing some classes with the other first years, but will also be taking advanced charms with the fourth years and will be having private lessons with some of the professors."

Once again a murmur broke out across the hall. While the students were gossiping amongst themselves, Severus slipped out of the hall into one of the small side chambers where Harry had been since the arrival of the students nearly an hour before.

It was pre-arranged that Severus would go and retrieve Harry while Albus told the students a watered-down version of what happened to the Boy-Who-Lived.

Upon opening the door, Severus was nearly knocked over from the force of Harry's hug. The boy started hissing excitedly, the only words Severus was able to understand were "Sev'rus and Poppy."

The professors had noticed that whenever Harry felt extreme emotions, he forgot his English lessons and started speaking in rapid parseltongue. Luckily Albus had discovered a spell a few days ago that allowed someone to understand other languages.

_Flashback-_

All the staff were meeting in Albus' office to discuss whether or not they thought Harry would be able to handle life at Hogwarts.

Severus was sitting away from the others with Harry next to him. Harry, while being a lot more outgoing now then he was when he first arrived, was still an incredibly shy boy around the other adults. Whenever he was in a room with more than five adults, he would cling to either Severus or Poppy. He also refused to be left alone with Argus Filch and for reasons none of the adults could fathom, Professor Quirrell.

When Albus asked Harry why this was, Harry told the old headmaster "Cissy says he tastes wrong." Not understanding what this meant, the adults made sure that Harry was never left alone with the defence professor.

Albus arrived several minutes later, and everyone stopped talking. Harry included as he had, unfortunately, learnt at a young age to not speak when around his "superiors".

"Now as I'm sure you're all aware, we are here to discuss whether Harry will be able to join the student body this year or not." Albus began. "Minerva, you and Filius have been teaching Harry to read and write. In your opinion do you believe he will be able to keep up with the other students?"

Minerva looked over at Harry. The boy looked back at her with wide, hopeful eyes. She felt her heart melt, and just knew what she was about to say would crush the child.

"Well, thanks to Severus, he is able to understand anything you say to him, so any practical lessons shouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, his writing skills are rather poor-" Seeing the hurt look on Harry's face, she was quick to reassure the child. "Not that it's your fault Harry, I promise you." Seeing that her words weren't helping the situation, Minerva got up and came over to Harry. Kneeling in front of the trembling child, she whispered words of praise to Harry, telling him how far he'd come in such a short time.

Filius spoke up then, realising Minerva had completely forgotten about the others in the room.

"Mr. Potter's reading, however, is rather amazing. I'm not sure he does it, but he simply passes his hands over the words, almost like braille… well I'm assuming that's what he's doing. When he reads out loud, he more often than not reads in Parseltongue, but with the books he's been able to read out loud in English, he's read them all correctly, so I'm assuming he reads them correctly in Parseltongue also. His fingers must be amazingly sensitive, to pick up on the printed text. When I asked him how he learnt, he just told me that he was bored one day and he found some books in a box.

The adults looked over at Harry. Harry in turn was currently making a point of ignoring Minerva, while Severus tried not to laugh at the indignant expression on the old witch's face.

Albus pulled all three back into the real world by letting off a loud bang from the end of his wand. Severus and Minerva both jumped and looked sheepishly at Albus. Harry on the other hand let out a scream and all but jumped into Severus' lap, hiding his face from the others.

"Oh well done Albus, that was an intelligent thing to do. Lets' scare the mentally traumatized child by letting off a loud bang." Severus glared at the headmaster, while at the same time tried to calm the small child in his arms.

Harry looked up at Severus and glared at him.

"_I am not mental!"_

Albus chuckled at the resentful look on the small boy's face.

"Not mental Harry, mentally traumatized. It means you still have some… issues, due to your upbringing. Nothing to be ashamed of, and I apologize for scaring you."

Harry still looked put out.

"…not scared,_ just don't understand everything yet. And adults not understanding __me_ doesn't help much." The only thing the staff understood were "not scared" and "doesn't help much."

"Ah Harry, I do believe you have just given me the perfect opening for my next line of conversation. Now as Harry has so wonderfully put it, he has been having trouble understanding everything, due to the fact that none of you have been able to understand him.

It just so happens that I discovered a spell the other day that allows a person to understand other languages. I feel this will help us in future, especially if Harry is going to be joining his fellow classmates next week.

The incantation is _insolitus lingua_. To cast it, you just point your wand at your throat. You must also say the language you wish to understand, in this case Parseltongue. It's as simple as that. Now it won't enable you to speak the language, but I'm sure it will make classes run a lot smoother."

Everyone looked sceptical, but Albus just smiled that infuriating smile of his and popped a lemon drop into his mouth.

"Come on Sev'rus! _Try it out!"_ Harry was looking up at Severus with his big, green eyes. Severus let out a sigh and pulled his wand from his pocket. Pointing it at himself (and well aware of the fact that if this went wrong the entire staff would hold it against him for a VERY long time) Severus muttered _"insolitus lingua Parseltongue."_

He didn't feel anything happen, so assuming it didn't work, he sent a glare at his employer.

"_Severus? Did it work?"_

"No, I don't believe it-" Sharply looking down to the boy sitting on his lap, Severus realised it was the first time he had ever heard Harry say his name correctly.

"H-Harry, say something in Parseltongue."

"…_Minerva wears too much green for someone who is meant to be Gryffindor's Head of House." _

It took Severus a few seconds to realise Harry had just had the courage to say something like that, and another few seconds before he realised that while Albus had clearly understood what Harry said (judging by the amount of laughter coming from the man), no one else had understood a word.

Letting out a small chuckle of his own (much to the other's alarm) Severus announced that the spell does, without a doubt, work.

The teachers talked for another forty minutes, before finally agreeing that Harry would indeed join the students at Hogwarts this year.

End flashback

"_Insolitus lingua Parseltongue_. Now Harry you know you must speak as much English as you can while you're around the other students, and you can't call Poppy and I by our first names. You must call me Professor Snape and Poppy, Madame Pomfrey. Do you understand Harry? Now, could you please repeat all that?"

Harry repeated everything he had just said, and Severus felt his heart break. The boy still didn't believe the staff would never abandon him.

Severus assured the boy that he would never be forgotten or abandoned, and asked him if he was ready to meet the other students.

"Ok Pro-professor Snape."

Severus gave Harry a small smile, showing him he had done well. Taking Harry's hand in his, Severus barely even noticed the rather large snake that wound it's way around Harry's shoulders as he led the small boy into the Great Hall.

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Harry looked up when the door opened, Cissy had just been telling him about a new tunnel she had discovered that day, that lead her from the dungeons all the way to the top of the highest tower. She said it was good because it was so small that not many people would be able to fit in it, but Harry would because he's been damaged by his time with…the bad people.

She planned on showing it to him as soon as they could go exploring again.

Harry was ecstatic to see Severus. Despite all the time he had spent with the strange adults over the last month, and all the promises they had made to never send him away, he was still worried they would get sick of him and dump him back with…

Turning his thoughts to less upsetting things, Harry dropped the book he had been looking through and ran up to Severus.

"Sev'rus! _I was worried you would forget about me! I didn't know when you or _Poppy_ would come and get me. Cissy told me not to worry because I'm starting school tonight, but I thought maybe you decided you didn't want me anymore and you were going to leave me here forever!" _

Harry frowned when Severus told him he has to speak English when around the other students, and remembered Severus telling him a few times to call him Professor Snape (which in Harry's mind was a stupid name and the word professor was too hard to say!)

He carefully repeated what he had just said.

Harry felt his heart lift when Severus reassured him that he would never be forgotten. But soon his fears came back when Severus asked him if he was ready to meet the other students.

"Ok Pro-professor Snape." Harry felt his heart lighten when Sev- Professor Snape smiled at him. He took Sev- Professor Snape's hand and let himself be led out of the room into the large hall.

Harry stopped dead at the sight of the hundreds of students looking at him. His breathing started getting faster and he felt himself start to panic. Albus came around from behind the large table and knelt in front of him.

"Harry look at me. I want to you to just relax, no one is going to harm you in here. Concentrate on your breathing, in and out. Good just like that.

Now I would like you to let go of Severus' hand and walk over to that stool up the front, and yes Cissy can stay with you.

Now when you get to the stool sit down on it and Minerva will put a hat on your head. Do you remember me telling you about this?"

At Harry's small nod, Albus beamed.

"Good. Now I promise the hat won't hurt you, it's just deciding which house you're best suited for. Do you remember me telling you about the sorting and which house is which?"

Again Harry nodded, though this time he looked a bit more uncertain.

Albus explained what to do when the hat called out his new house and started to lead Harry over to the stool.

Knowing that Severus wasn't going to let him be hurt, he let himself get pulled over to the stool at the front of the room, after all Albus was trustworthy. He would never do anything to hurt Harry.

Harry sat down and felt the hat fall over his eyes. He started to panic at the darkness, but a voice then spoke to him. It reminded him of when he met Cissy, which helped calm him down a lot.

"Ah Harry Potter, I was wondering when I would be able to sort you. Hmm yes, you are a difficult one to place. You show great courage, and will protect those weaker than you, but you would never purposely put yourself in danger if you can help it. So that rules Gryffindor out.

You will give your loyalty to others, but only if they prove themselves worthy of it, and I can see that you don't trust easily. So you would never belong in Hufflepuff.

You are eager to learn a great deal, but you don't have the drive that others in Ravenclaw do, so that rules out Rowena's House.

It seems that there is only one option for you. Your entire mind is set on survival mode. You know when to back down from a fight and how to get yourself out of difficult situations. Your eagerness to prove yourself will come in handy when you join SLYTHERIN!"

Harry jumped when the hat shouted out Slytherin, but quickly pulled the hat off his head and joined Sev- Professor Snape's house.

He sat down next to a boy with platinum blond hair, and shook his hand.

"Hi I'm Draco Malfoy."

"H-Harry Potter."

"I suppose-" but Draco was cut off there when Albus stood up.

"Ah, now that Mr. Potter has been sorted, and I'm sure Slytherin House will make him feel very welcome, it is time for the best part of the evening, the food. So dig in!

The tables filled with food and there was a mad scramble, as everyone wanted first choice at the best foods.

The feast went well, Harry remembered to use his cutlery and didn't embarrass himself too much.

**(!)** He was asked a few questions about Cissy, but it quickly became apparent that he just didn't have the vocabulary to be able to converse properly with the other students. This was fine as far as the Slytherins were concerned, they were just happy they got "the Boy-Who-Lived" instead of the Grffindorks.

At first Draco and some of the other first years tried to get Harry to join their conversations, but after realising his vocabulary wasn't quite as… extensive as theirs, they just left him alone, occasionally asking him yes or no questions, so he still felt included.

Just as everyone was ready to fall asleep in their seats, Dumbledore stood up and made his announcements.

Harry was only half listening, already aware of the fact that the third floor corridor was out of bounds, the Forbidden Forest was still named that for a reason, and magic wasn't to be used in the halls between classes.

He got up with all the others and started to make his way to the Slytherin common room.

Just as he was leaving the hall, he turned and gave Professor Dumbledore a wave goodnight. Albus smiled and waved back.

Harry ran to catch up with the other first years, not wanting to be excluded.

"Where did you go?" Draco asked.

Harry thought about how to answer him.

"Um… wav-ed goo'nigh' to Al- ah Pro-professor Dumbledore."

Draco looked shocked.

"Really? You actually like that mudblood-loving old fool? That's really surprising after what he did to you."

Harry was confused. One, what's a mudblood? And two, what did Albus do to him?

"Huh? Ah, wha- wha' you mean?"

"Don't you know? He was the one who left you with those awful muggles! It was his faul- hey! Where're you going?"

But Harry was no longer listening to the Malfoy heir. Harry took off down into the dungeons, oblivious to the calls following him. Harry didn't even notice when Cissy fell off his shoulders onto the floor. Only one thought was going through Harry's mind at the moment.

_It couldn't be true!_

But deep in Harry's heart he knew it was true. Yet another adult had betrayed him, only this time it hurt so much more. Harry actually cared about this person.

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YAY finished!

Sorry about the cliffie and about the length of the chapter but it's a fairly insignificant chapter and I really want to get started on the good stuff!

Thanks to all those who reviewed!

And special thanks to Av, because man some of these paragraphs were dodge!

Reviews appreciated!! **looks hopeful!**


	6. Learning Truths and Moving Forward

Severus all but ran to his rooms, not caring if any of the students saw him. He had gone to the Slytherin common room to give his new snakes an introduction to the rules and expectations Severus expected them to live by, when he noticed that Harry wasn't there.

Asking around, it wasn't long until he discovered the Malfoy boy had let slip that Albus was the one to leave Harry with the Dursleys.

Barking out instructions for the new prefects to teach them the rules, Severus made his way out of the common room as quickly as he could while still looking respectable.

Once out of sight of the few portraits that lived in the dungeons, Severus took off, getting to his quarters in half the time it usually took.

Looking through each of the rooms, Severus' worry grew as each room turned out empty.

"Harry! Harry, where are you?"

Hearing something behind him, Severus turned around, hoping to see his missing ward. What he wasn't expecting was to see the snake that Harry constantly had with him.

Feeling like a fool, but knowing that if anyone would know where Harry was it would be Cissy, Severus asked the reptile, hoping to Merlin she would know.

The snake looked at him for a second, before giving what could only be a nod. It turned around and left the room, a confused and worried Severus following after it.

The two walked (or slithered as the case may be) for what felt like an age, before finally coming to a corridor that only had one door.

"Is he in there?" Severus asked, by now having figured out that the snake could understand him.

Cissy nodded and Severus opened the door, only to be met with the most horrifying sight.

Huddled in a corner was Harry, and while that in its self was not such an unusual occurrence, the horrifying thing was the other person in the room.

Vernon Dursley, just as he was when Severus last saw him, was yelling insults at Harry, while systematically hitting him with a belt.

Harry was pleading with the grotesque man, begging him to leave him alone.

Without even thinking about it Severus pulled out his wand and cast the first spell that came to mind.

"Stupefy!"

The spell hit Dursley square on the back. The strength of the spell should have rendered the man unconscious, but all Dursley did was turn around and glare, before turning into a hideous werewolf.

Suddenly Severus knew what he was dealing with. Thinking of how he could turn the horrible beast into something amusing, Severus cried "Riddikulus!"

The spell hit its target and where a snarling, drooling monster once was now sat a tiny puppy barely able to stand on its own overgrown feet.

Severus banished the puppy to who knows where, and ran over to the bloody boy in the corner.

"Harry? Oh Harry I'm so sorry."

Severus tried to hug the quivering child, but Harry pulled away with a small scream.

He again tried to get near the boy, but was met with a punch in the face, curtesy of a small boy trying to defend himself from non-existent enemies.

"I'm sorry Uncle, I'm sorry. Please I won't do it again. I'm sorry. Please, please, no! No I'm sorry!"

Severus felt like crying. No child should ever say such things, especially not a boy like Harry.

"Harry I'm not your uncle! Please Harry, I'm not going to hurt you. Please. Harry, I am not your uncle."

Severus didn't know what to do. Trying to get closer to the boy would only result in more pain (for both him and the boy), but Harry seemed oblivious to Severus' calls.

Severus kept trying for almost fifteen minutes, but the boy was lost in a world of his own.

Sighing, Severus looked over at the snake that had so far been quite placid during the whole ordeal.

"Insolitus lingua Parseltongue. Cissy do you know what I can do to help him?"

The snake looked at him sadly, before shaking it's head. Once again Severus was astounded at the intelligence of the creature.

"_I am sorry potions man, but Harry is trapped in memories he cannot escape_."

_Potions man? Well I've been called worst things before._

Cissy's comment, while being hilarious at the same time, struck an idea in Severus' mind.

"Cissy, if I could get into his memories, would I be able to help Harry?"

Cissy looked uncertain. It was clear to Severus that she understood, but she was weary of causing Harry more pain.

Finally, after Harry started screaming again, Cissy nodded.

Trying to ignore the pain filled cries that were coming from the boy, Severus put his wand to Harry's temple and muttered "legilimens."

twtwtw

"You stupid freak! That vase was a present from my mother!"

Severus watched as someone, who could only be Petunia Dursley, slapped a younger Harry, knocking him to the floor.

"I-I'm sorry Aunt Petunia. I was just trying the dust it but it was too high for me. I didn't mean to knock it off."

Harry's aunt looked murderous. The worst thing about this scene was that Severus knew it would pale in comparison to what would happen to Harry in a few short years.

The horse-faced woman grabbed the quivering child by his arm and threw him onto the pile of broken ceramics. Harry whimpered at the pain as his small hands were cut open, but managed to hold back more the tears.

"Clean it up you ungrateful little shit, then off to your room. If you behave, I won't have to tell Vernon about this."

Harry looked up at his aunt with wide, hopeful eyes, but the illusion was ruined when Petunia went to slap him again. Harry ducked at the last second, before his eyes widened as he realised what he had done.

"You little bastard! How dare you duck when I try and discipline you! Now your uncle will definitely hear about this! No forget the vase, you can clean it up tonight after your uncle has finished punishing you. Now get to your room and stay there!"

Harry stood up, trying not to get any blood on the carpet as his hands were bleeding freely by this stage.

Just as he was leaving the lounge room, his cousin Dudley came running in and the two of them went flying.

"Mummy!" Dudley Dursley started bawling, but Severus could see that there weren't actually any tears.

"Oh Duddykins, are you alright? What did you hurt?"

Severus couldn't watch the disgusting display of favouritism, so he looked over at Harry, and felt his heart break just that little bit more.

The boy was on the ground silently crying, clutching at his left wrist, which was obviously broken.

"The-the freak pushed me, Mummy! He pushed me 'cause he knows no one will ever love him!"

Despite the fact that it was an obvious lie, Petunia rounded on the smaller boy and started giving him an earful, even though the boy clearly needed medical attention of at least the most basic kind.

Severus felt hopeless, his little Harry was being destroyed before his very eyes and there was nothing he could do to prevent it.

"…and you've gotten blood on the new carpets! Go to your room! Your uncle will hear all about your behaviour today, and don't think you'll just be getting a beating for this! No you little bastard, you'll be getting what you rightly deserve!"

Harry pulled himself off the ground, not even bothering to keep his bloodied hands off the carpet any longer, and shuffled off to the cupboard under the stairs.

At first Severus thought Harry was getting something for his hands from under the staircase, but that was before he saw the small sign stuck on the back of the cupboard door;

Harry's Room

twtwtw

Severus felt himself falling, before he landed painfully back in the empty classroom at Hogwarts.

After seeing the first disgusting scene, Severus had witnessed several more memories, including the punishment Harry had received that night.

Severus looked over at the small boy in the corner, who was silently watching him as if he were about to strike.

Knowing what Severus did now, he was amazed Harry had turned out the way he had, and not the least surprised he had problems being around adults.

The boy was completely tense, his eyes darting from side to side as he looked for a way out. Severus was almost afraid to say anything to him, worried it might cause Harry to relapse back into his memories.

After several minutes, when it was clear to Severus that Harry wasn't going to make the first move, Severus cautiously held out his hand to the shaking child.

Harry didn't take the hand as he would normally have, instead he hissed something and Cissy came from behind Severus and made her way around the boy's shoulders.

Severus realised the spell had worn off, and quickly reapplied it, trying not to flinch when Harry jumped at the noise.

"Harry? I…" But Severus didn't know what to say. What do you say to a child that experienced all that? What do you say to a child that lived his first five or so years with his highly abusive guardians, only to be locked away for another five years in a dark attic with only a snake to keep him alive, let alone to give him company?

"When will you do it to, Severus?" Harry looked up at him, his vibrant, green eyes looked dead. Severus had no idea what the boy was talking about.

"When will I what Harry? When will I hit you? When will I hold your head under the water until you almost drown? I promise Harry, I will never do those things, not even if you were to break into my laboratory and destroy all my research. What those people did to you was inhuman and they will be punished for it."

Severus looked Harry in the eye, confused when the boy started shaking his head.

_"That- that's not what I meant Sev- Severus. What I meant was whe- when will you be-betray me to? When will you get sick of having me around? WHEN WILL YOU STOP CARING, JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE?!"_

Severus felt tears run down his face. It was the first time in many years that he had actually cried, but seeing this broken child before him tore at even his black heart.

"Harry, Albus didn't… he had no idea they would treat you like that. You must believe me; he was just as devastated as everybody else was when he heard what happened to you. Albus loves you and loved your parents; he would never have left you with those monsters had he had any idea what sort of things would happen to you, even before you were put in the attic."

Harry started to cry, even as he forced the next words passed his lips.

"_But- but he did, Severus! He left me, and I- I had to live through that! I-I'm a freak and it's all- all their fault! Unc-uncle Vernon and- and Al-bus! It's too much, Severus! I just-"_ Harry cut off, not wanting to reveal the horrible thoughts that had just entered his head. But Severus needed to know. He had to know what Harry was thinking or there was no way he could help him.

"What Harry? What were you going to say?" The desperation in his voice shocked Harry enough to tell him.

"_I- I just wish… I just wish I was…I just wish I was DEAD!_" Severus gasped, never expecting Harry to say something like that.

" _I can't cope being here, but I can't go back to where I was! Even before the-the at-attic I was different, a freak. I've never been normal and I just wish so bad that I could. Severus, I can't be normal, ever, and I just want to be! I just want to be like everyone else but I can't!"_ The boy broke down completely, sobbing and rocking back and forth.

"Oh Harry." Severus got up and walked over to the small child in the corner. Ignoring the snake that was desperately trying to comfort the small boy, Severus knelt down and wrapped his arms around Harry, refusing to let go even when Harry struggled.

"Harry I'm not going to let you go. Ever. I will always be here for you, even when you don't want me to be. I promise, I won't betray you. Even if everyone else turns away from you, I will be here, waiting to comfort you and keep you safe."

The two of them sat in that position for almost two hours, Severus continuously murmuring words of care and assurance to the broken child.

Looking down, Severus realised the boy had fallen asleep in his lap. Not wanting to upset him further, Severus stood up with the small child in his arms and carried him to his rooms.

Placing the boy in his room, Severus transfigured the boy's robe into a set of pyjamas and put him into his bed.

The boy stirred slightly when Severus was leaving, drawing him back to Harry's bedside.

"_Sev'rus, I don' wanna go tomorrow. No' ready."_

Severus nodded his head; having already thought that it would be unlikely Harry would be able to face the other students after the night's revelations.

"I'll speak to the Headmaster, Harry, and see what he says."

Harry closed his eyes and rolled over, facing away from Severus.

"_Thank-you Sev'rus. Nigh'."_

"Good night Harry."

Severus was almost at the door when he heard a soft voice, which was little more than a whisper; mutter some of the most painful words he had ever heard.

"_Love you Sev'rus."_ By the time Severus turned around again, the boy was fast asleep.

twtwtw

After checking on his Sytherins to make sure the first years were settled in, Severus made his way up to the Headmaster's office.

Softly saying the password as he came across the stone gargoyle, Severus waited as patiently as he could while the stairs slowly took him up to his employer.

"Ah Severus, do come in."

Grumbling about senile old coots and their strange powers, Severus opened the door and was more then a little surprised to see half the staff seated in the large office.

Albus looked as though he were about to speak, before he noticed the red eyes of the potions master.

His jovial smile vanished in an instant, being replaced by a look of worry Severus hadn't seen since before Harry was brought in.

"Severus my boy, what on earth has happened?"

The dark man collapsed into the nearest chair, holding his head in his hands.

"Harry found out who left him with the Dursleys."

Severus could see the instant Albus caught on to what that meant.

"Oh Merlin. What happened?"

Many of the staff looked confused, few knowing that it was Albus who had made the decision to leave Harry with his relatives.

Ignoring the inquiring looks from many of the staff, Severus told Albus what had happened earlier that night, including what he had seen in the memories. He purposely left out the last comment Harry had made while half asleep.

"And you say he doesn't wish to start school with the others? Well if that is what he truly believes then there isn't much we can do. Those of you that are scheduled to tutor him will continue to do so. I also believe, in light of what young Harry has revealed to us tonight, that it may be beneficial to look at getting him a therapist."

Severus looked outraged; Harry didn't need to speak to some strange adult about what had happened to him, he just needed more time to get used to his new life.

He argued with Albus about the issue for several minutes, before Albus finally conceded defeat.

"Alright my dear boy, if that is what you truly believe will be best for Harry. However, if he isn't showing signs of improvement by Christmas, I would like to have at least have one session with someone."

Considering he had won the last battle, Severus agreed to this request.

Sighing, Severus bade goodnight to his fellow staff and made his way back to the dungeons. The next few months were going to be very trying, he only hoped that he had the strength to handle it.

twtwtw

"Come on, Severus! You are so slow!"

Harry Potter was anxiously waiting in the living room, impatiently tapping his foot and looking at the clock every thirty seconds or so.

It was mid December, and Hogwarts was covered in a fresh bed of snow, snow which Harry was eagerly waiting to play in, never having done so before.

Finally, after what seemed like hours to the small child, but in fact was only about fifteen minutes, Severus was ready and the two of them made their way up through the dungeons of Hogwarts.

Harry slowed once they reached the entrance hall, knowing that there would be many students about.

In the three and a half months since the school term had begun, Harry had slowly become more confident in himself and his surroundings. His English had improved and he was finally able to pronounce "er", which Severus was extremely thankful for, as Harry was now able to pronounce his name correctly.

His writing was still abysmal and his reading had become a problem during some of his classes as some of the teachers preferred to write instructions on the board, but Severus was slowly working on that and Harry was beginning to make progress.

It had taken a good two months for Harry to be able to start attending classes and he was still too nervous to spend time with his classmates outside of class time. Considering the boy had only had about five months to get over ten years of neglect and abuse, Severus considered the small amount of trust Harry had in other people as nothing short of a miracle.

Surprisingly Harry had made friends with one of the Gryffindors, Neville Longbottom. Thought considering the Longbottom boy was about as confident as Harry was; it wasn't really much of a surprise.

While Harry would never actually spend time outside of class with the boy, he would work with him during some of their joint classes. Severus was thankful that Harry was making some attempts to socialise, even if it was with a boy who was not only a Gryffindor, but also one of the worst potions students Severus had ever seen.

Pulling himself from his thoughts, Severus watched Harry out of the corner of his eye as the two of them slowly made their way across the large hall, before exiting the large front doors, not missing the fact that Harry's eyes were dancing across the room, watching out for signs of trouble.

Severus would never forget the look on Harry's face when Harry saw the snow-covered grounds. It was the happiest Severus had seen the boy look since… forever. Harry hadn't even noticed the other students enjoying different activities around him.

Letting his mind wander, Severus didn't notice Harry bending down to play with the soft snow. Unfortunately, that also meant he didn't see the snowball come flying at him until it hit him… straight in the face.

Coughing on the snow that he had swallowed, the first thing Severus noticed was that the entire grounds had gone silent, everyone watching to see what the greasy git of the dungeons would do to the Boy-Who-Lived who had just pelted him in the face with a fairly sizable snowball.

Wiping the snow from his face, Severus secretly pulled his wand from is pocket before turning to his young charge.

"Harry Potter!" The smile on Harry's face vanished only to be replaced with a look of fear. It wouldn't affect Severus however; no one does that to him and gets away with it.

"Harry Potter I am very disappointed in you. You should not have done that, and I will be forced to punish you for your utter lack of respect… to the correct procedure during a snowball fight." With that, Severus conjured up a much larger snowball, one that was easily the size of Harry's head, and promptly dropped it on the shocked boy.

Giving a squeal of surprise, Harry shook all the snow from his hair and face before glaring at the potions master.

Severus was a little worried when the glare turned into a very Slytherin-esque smirk, which was all the warning he got before Harry wandlessly lifted an even larger amount of snow and dumped it all on Severus' head before running off.

_Oh two can play this game Mr. Potter,_ thought Severus.

"Fifty points to whoever can get Mr. Potter with the largest snowball."

"Fifty points to whoever can protect Mr. Potter from the most snowballs."

Severus turned around to see a smiling Albus. It was clear that the headmaster had been standing there for sometime.

Looking back at the grounds, the students were still too shocked to move.

"What are you waiting for? Move!"

The students got moving again.

twtwtw

It was war. After Severus' declaration, the students had divided into two fairly even sized groups. So far no snowballs had hit Harry, it was a pity that the same couldn't be said for Severus.

Fred and George Weasley were the main perpetrators, and Severus planned on making their lives hell for the rest of the year. For the time being however, he could forget about them as Harry was finally interacting with other students and Severus wasn't going to jeopardise that for the world.

After three hours the students were beginning to tire, and as it was getting dark, Albus decided to call all the students inside.

Albus called Harry over which, much to Albus' surprise, the boy did happily.

Harry was still nervous around Albus and was yet to forgive him for what he had done. It clearly wasn't an issue for the time being and Albus was happy to see the boy acting so… normal.

"Now Harry, it seems that not a single snowball has hit you since Severus first started the snowball fight earlier." Severus was about to argue that it was Harry who started it, but decided against it.

Albus winked at him and continued.

"I do believe that you have managed to stay snowball-free mostly due to the valiant efforts of Mr Fred and George Weasley, so I award you each fifty points."

The Gryffindors cheered while the rest of the houses groaned.

Fred walked forward and held out his hand to Harry. After some hesitation, Harry grabbed hold of Fred's hand and shook it quickly.

What neither Harry, Severus or surprisingly Albus saw (thought the latter is questionable) was George coming up behind Harry and shoving a giant snowball down his back.

Harry yelped, but it quickly turned into laughs.

The others all laughed, even Severus couldn't help but smile (though he continues to deny it).

George turned to the two professors, trying to hide the mirth in his eyes.

"I do believe, Professors, that I just got Harry with the largest snowball."

Albus chuckled. "I do believe you are correct Mr Weasley. Therefore I award you a further fifty points."

Severus tried to argue, but was unable to form any words.

"But- they- how?"

The students just laughed some more at the thought of the Head of Slytherin being out manoeuvred by two Gryffindors. They all stopped when he sent a glare at them all promising them a slow and painful death if they ever brought it up again.

The students began to wander inside for dinner. It wasn't until they were all seated that the professors realised that Harry was sitting with his fellow students at the Slytherin table.

twtwtw

Finished!

Ok don't hate me how long it is between chapters, RL is just stupid atm

Review, pretty please :D


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